Brewers’ Yelich, Hiura primed for big series vs. Reds

Keston Hiura has been the hottest hitter in the majors since the break.

The Milwaukee Brewers rookie was named the NL Player of the Week on Monday and is hitting .512, tops in MLB, since the All-Star break.

He and teammate Christian Yelich are primed for more success against the Cincinnati Reds, who visit the Brewers on Monday for the first game of a three-game set at Miller Park.

Yelich has a .887 slugging percentage against Cincinnati since joining the Brewers, the third-highest SLG against a single team over that span.

The reigning National League MVP has 26 RBI and 11 home runs in 24 games against the Reds since the beginning of 2018.

But while the Reds’ pitching staff will have to contend with Hiura and Yelich, the Brewers will have their hands full dealing with a familiar foil: Right fielder Yasiel Puig.

The former Los Angeles Dodgers star, who had seven hits against the Brewers during last year’s NLCS, is hitting .389 with 12 RBI and four home runs in 11 games against Milwaukee since joining the Reds last winter.

Puig is batting .397/.447/.824 with a 1.271 OPS against the Brewers since 2017, the most of any opposing hitter with at least 75 plate appearances against Milwaukee over that span.

He’s averaging a home run every 9.7 at-bats and an RBI every 3.4 at-bats.

Statistics via Sportradar